During a press conference right now (1:00 p.m. PST) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Verizon Wireless is announcing the development -- but not the commercial launch -- of V CAST Mobile TV that's based on Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile television system, as I wrote on Friday morning.
[I'm writing this second article on Friday night, shortly after on a briefing from Verizon Wireless to analysts, for publication (according to the embargo) at the start of the press conference. I'll have more details later right here.]
V CAST Mobile TV will be launched some time in the first quarter of this year. Programs will be available from CBS, NBC News, NBC Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and Fox, according to the briefing.
The shows will include advertising. The programs will be available 24 hours a day and there will be an East Coast and West Coast feed.
V CAST Mobile TV's streaming service will be integrated with Verizon's current V CAST video on demand service so subscribers to both offerings will be able to switch among them.
LG, Samsung handsets
Verizon will offer two handsets: A "slider" phone from Samsung with a QVGA screen and an LG phone with a swivel screen (as noted in the article on Friday morning). The phones will include a dedicated Mobile TV key.
The battery life for viewing V CAST Mobile TV is about three hours.
The handsets will include a detailed program guide for reading what shows are running currently and in the future and the ability to click on the guide to view the specific show to watch.
Verizon Wireless will offer a section on its Web site that includes previews of shows, program guides and reviews. The Web site also will include the ability to set parental controls.
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